Category: Hold

Details:
Dante was a happy baby. He had a developmental delay; he hadn’t yet learned to walk, and had difficulty chewing and swallowing. He could say a few words, like “ew” and “yeah”. He was being evaluated for autism.

His mother called him “Monkey Man” because he had a favorite blanket with a monkey on it which he carried everywhere. Before he went to sleep, he rubbed his face against his blanket.

Dante’s mother left him with her boyfriend, who abused the boy. Dante was brought to the hospital, unresponsive, with bruises, a compressed neck, and a brain injury, and died a few days later.